Meet the Academy Board

Mr. Johnson served as a Chapter 13 Trustee for the District of Puerto Rico from 1989 to 1998 when he was appointed as Chapter 13 Trustee for the Eastern District of California, Sacramento Division. Mr. Johnson retired from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard in 1995 with the rank of Brigadier General. He was a founding member of the National Guard Association of Puerto Rico and has served as its president. Mr. Johnson is an active national speaker on consumer bankruptcy issues, and currently serves as a member of the Liaison Committee of NACTT.

Ms. Celli has served as the Chapter 13 Standing Trustee for the Northern District of New York in Albany since 1995.  Her office currently administers approximately 6,000 pending Chapter 13 cases and disburses approximately $30 Million to creditors each year.  She is an attorney, licensed in the State of New York, and received a J.D. from Albany Law School of Union University and an LL.M. in American Banking Law Studies from Boston University School of Law.  Ms. Celli is a frequent lecturer for the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Capital Region Bankruptcy Bar Association, the Capital District Women’s Bar Association, and the Albany Law School of Union University.  Ms. Celli has served on the board of directors of a number of charitable and non-profit organizations including the Capital District Community Land Trust and EBA Center for Dance and Movement.  She brings to the Academy the experience of a nationally respected expert on consumer bankruptcy, and an experienced leader of tax exempt and charitable organizations.

Henry E. Hildebrand, III has served as Standing Trustee for Chapter 13 matters in the Middle District of Tennessee since 1982 and as Standing Chapter 12 Trustee for that district since 1986.  He also is of counsel to the Nashville law firm of Lassiter, Tidwell, Davis, Keller & Hogan, PLLC. Mr. Hildebrand graduated from Vanderbilt University and received his J.D. from the National Law Center of George Washington University.  He is a fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy and serves on its Education Committee.  He is Board Certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification.  He is Chairman of the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee for the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees (NACTT). In addition, he is on the Board of Directors for the NACTT Academy for Consumer Bankruptcy Education, Inc. Mr. Hildebrand has served as case notes author for The Quarterly, a newsletter dealing with consumer bankruptcy issues and Chapter 13 practice in particular, since 1991.  He is a regular contributor to the American Bankruptcy Institute Journal.  He is an adjunct faculty member for the Nashville School of Law and St. Johns University School of Law.

Ms. Leavitt has served as a Standing Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Trustee for the District of Nevada since 1981. She has served as editor of The Quarterly, a publication dealing with Chapter 13 bankruptcy and consumer bankruptcy matters for over ten years. She was president of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees in 1997 and currently chairs its Bankruptcy Rules Committee. She also serves on the NACTT IRS Liaison Committee and Publication Editorial Board. From 1995 through 2005, Ms. Leavitt served on the Executive Board of Consumer Credit Counseling of Southern Nevada. She has prepared and presented educational programs for the American Bankruptcy Institute, the State Bar of Nevada, and the Southern Nevada Association of Bankruptcy Attorneys, and the Department of Justice – U.S. Trustee Program.

M. Regina Thomas was appointed Clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Georgia, on September 1, 2009. The Court maintains Divisional Offices in Atlanta, Newnan, Rome and Gainesville, GA.

Prior to this appointment, Ms. Thomas was Managing Attorney for the Bankruptcy Group at the law firm of McCalla Raymer, LLC in Atlanta, GA. and served as Assistant United States Trustee for the Southern District of Florida for three years. Beginning in 1992, Ms. Thomas served as the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee for the Northern District of Georgia for almost 12 years. During this time, she administered the largest Chapter 13 caseload in the country and was responsible for approximately $90 million per year in disbursements to creditors and attorneys. During her tenure as Chapter 13 Trustee, Ms. Thomas served as President of the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees for the 2000-2001 year and was chair of the annual educational seminar in New York City in 1999.

Since 1992, Ms. Thomas has been a frequent speaker at bankruptcy and business seminars, including seminars presented by the National Association of Chapter 13 Trustees, National Association of Bankruptcy Trustees, American Bankruptcy Institute, United States Trustee Program, State Bar of Georgia, The Florida Bar, University of Miami School of Law, Stetson School of Law, McCalla Raymer Women’s Law Symposium, National Labor Relations Board, and various other state and federal agencies.

Along with the Honorable W. Homer Drake, Jr., Ms. Thomas was the co-author of the Thomson-West publication, Chapter 13 Practice and Procedure from 2003-2006. In 2009, she edited the ABI publication Chapter 13 in 13 Chapters, written by William J. McLeod. This book is among the ABI’s top selling reference guides.